Toddler and baby ‘were home alone when fire broke out’ at their home, police say

St Anthony's Place in Blackpool, where police say two young children were left home alone when a fire broke out shortly after midnight on Saturday, October 8 (Pic: Google)

Michael Holmes

Published:10:00Tuesday 11 October 2016

A toddler and baby were home alone when a fire broke out, it has emerged.

The youngsters, a girl aged two and a boy aged one, had to be rescued after a chip pan in their kitchen went up in flames shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Residents in St Anthony’s Place, close to Talbot Road in Blackpool, pitched a ladder up against a bedroom window before smashing it and pulling the girl to safety, while the baby was also carried from the terraced house.

The pair were taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for check-ups and treatment.

Both had inhaled smoke, while the girl also had cuts to her fingers and one of her feet.

Two adults, understood to be the children’s rescuers, were also given check-ups.

Police have now launched an investigation into the incident, though no arrests had been made yesterday.

Officers are keen to know why the children were on their own and how long they had been left for, and are expected to question their mother.

Firefighters were called to the house at 12.05am, with crews from both Blackpool and Bispham attending.

The initial 999 call reported people inside the house, though everybody was out by the time firefighters arrived.

They spent an hour at the scene, with the blaze causing some fire and smoke damage, a spokesman said.

The law doesn’t say an age when one can leave a child on their own, but it’s an offence to leave a child alone if it places them at risk. The NSPCC says ‘babies, toddlers, and very young children should never be left alone’.